Wife of KSU coach killed by lightning strike

Published: Sunday, August 29, 1999

MANHATTAN, Kan. {AP} Nancy Bennett, wife of Kansas State defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, died Saturday of injuries suffered when she was struck by lightning while jogging during a violent thunderstorm.

Mrs. Bennett, who was 41, had been in intensive care at Mercy Hospital since she was injured Aug. 11 and never regained consciousness.

Besides her husband, she leaves two young children, Sam, 11, and Maddie, 8.

Mrs. Bennett, who worked as a registered nurse while following her husband through his various coaching jobs, was struck by a lightning bolt near the Kansas State campus. Bennett, worried about his wife being out in the storm, arrived on the scene just as she was being put in the ambulance.

Bennett, who has missed many Kansas State practices to be with his wife, said in a statement issued through Kansas State that he was grateful for thousands of people who had expressed their compassion and concern through the ordeal.

Mrs. Bennett's death was the latest in a series of accidents suffered by the Kansas State program.

In 1996, then-defensive co-coordinator Bob Cope learned in mid-season that he had cancer. He died before the start of the 1997 season.

Ross Snyder, the son of head coach Bill Snyder, underwent surgery for colon cancer. Jami Adcock, who for 2 years had entertained as the "Willie the Wildcat" mascot, was killed in a motorcycle accident shortly after he graduated in June.

Bill Snyder and assistant Mo Lattimore were involved in a traffic accident in Texas on a recruiting trip that totaled their rental car and knocked Lattimore unconscious.

Jerrod Cooper, an All-Big 12 safety, was nearly killed when a car jumped a curb and pinned him against a wall as he talked on a pay phone.

Cooper spoke recently of coach Bennett's strength of character.

"To see someone with so much strength after something so traumatizing, that's got to inspire you," Cooper said of the way Bennett has conducted himself during his ordeal. "Even if you don't play football, it's inspiring to see the strength that he has."

Bennett joined the Kansas State staff in January and was named defensive coordinator in February.

He came to Kansas State from Oklahoma, where he had coached the secondary on a Sooners defense that was ranked sixth in the nation in 1998 in total defense.